First Nations and Saturn Minerals launch Inowending Exploration Development Corp.
Saturn Minerals Inc. and Fishing Lake First Nation, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, the Key First Nation and Yellowquill First Nation have joined forces to form Inowending Exploration & Development Corp., a unique co-owned exploration company.
Inowending will be a private company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and will pursue the economic development of various natural resource exploration and development projects that display commercial promise.
Saturn has agreed to provide initial financial and management support to foster and incubate Inowending for a period of up to two years in exchange for a strategic ownership stake in the new company.
“It is about time,” says Chief Clarence Papequash of the Key First Nation. “First Nations have an ancestral connection to the land, and have a responsibility to ensure that responsible, sustainable development occurs while creating opportunities for future generations. This partnership is different, and was developed on mutual respect and understanding between First Nations and Saturn Minerals. Inowending represents the development of a positive, working relationship… It is my hope that this new company will lead the way in how to work with First Nations people.”
“Understanding and recognizing our Treaty and Inherent Rights to our traditional lands is paramount. We believe that what we have created with Saturn and other First Nations is one step forward towards strengthening that understanding and recognition,” said Chief Larry Cachene of Yellowquill First Nation.
“This venture is a remarkable opportunity for Yellowquill First Nation to attain ownership and create mutually beneficial partnerships in an exploration and development company, while ensuring that we do not impair our unique position as Treaty First Nations.”
“It is good to see First Nations and an exploration company come together to create a unique opportunity built on partnership and ownership,” says Kinistin Saulteaux First Nation Chief Albert Scott. “It is very encouraging to have Saturn approach First Nations, the original inhabitants of this land, and understand that before Treaty, we, as First Nation people, took care of Mother Earth in a respectful and sustainable way. Building a partnership based on those understandings will open doors for other unique and positive partnerships, and fosters a different approach for governments and industries in doing business with First Nations.”
“Saskatchewan has tremendous natural wealth and potential beneath the ground in the form of mineral wealth such as coal, oil, potash, and above ground in the form of First Nations,” says Saturn President Stan Szary. “Inowending will strive to establish a framework for our First Nations partners and Saturn to share the risk and reward as we unlock both of these potentials in a form that was originally envisioned by the Treaties.”
Category: Business, First Nations
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